Barrier device for automobile hood locks



July 24, 1956 F l. HOCHS TADT BARRIER DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILE HOOD LOCKS (5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 20, 1955 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY July 24, 1956 F. HOCHSTADT BARRIER DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILE HOOD LOCKS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 20, 1955 INVENTOR. FREDERICK l. HOCHSTADT ATTORNEY July 24', 1956 F. I. HOCHSTADT BARRIER DEVICE FOR AUTOMOBILE HOOD LOCKS Filed July 20, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. FREDERICK l. HOGHSTADT BY A M ATTORNEY United States Patenr i) BARRIER DEVICE For; AUTOMGBILE are D- LOCKS Frederick I. Hochstadt, .Yorikers,N. Y.

Application July 20, 1955, Serial-Nb. 523,168

4 Claims. tcrr-zs-z-aio This invention relates -to means eforz securing the ihOOdS :of-automotivevehicle's in closed ,positionagainst unauthorized opening and particularly to latching :means which are released :from' inside the closed body of such atvehicle. An example oil-the type of-release isv-the well known construction in which -.a flexible rcablencom nects a normallyclosed latch to a-knob -on the dash of :a vehicle the pulling of which will freleasethe .latch.

Commonly a headed locking-stud ,projects upwardly from a bracket under the hood-=and :at-the rfront-endof the'zchassis just in front of the radiator, in positionto enter a socket opening in a plate forming part'of a socket structure carried by the hood; The socket structure also includes a spring loaded crescent :shape latch which isxbiased to a position overlapping the socket opening underneath the head of the stud in: which position it ,sprecludes thewithdrawal of the studfrom the socket and locks the hood against opening.

This latch is on one endof a spring loaded, pivoted lever the other end of whichis connected to theiiex-ible cablethe operation of which willrtherefore release the 'latch against the spring tension.

The friction on the latch-due-toithe weight of the ihDOCl and :the force of the spring pressure which biases the latch to closed position have to be overcomevin the rpull'on the flexible cable and as a consequence "such safeguards have become unpopular and are omitted :from most current makes of cars.

It is an object of the present invention. to. provide a :manual release for hood latches which operates :from inside the body and which will be free of substantial friction and opposing spring pressure and will .beseasily operated with a minimum of effort. 1

Conventional hood latches of the type described above havea secondary or auxiliary latch whichscatches when the principal or primary latch above 'described'is released and the hood is partially raisedand whichrnust itself be released to permit the hood to be opened fully. The purpose of this auxiliary latch is to prevent the-hood from raising under wind pressure when -the.car' is moving in case the hood accidentally is not fully -closed-and the primary latch caught.

This secondary or auxiliary latch usually consists of a pivoted bail-like member carried by-the socket structure in position to catch under a hook on..the..=fiked bracket which acts as the keeper for the secondary latch.

[A spring biases this secondary latch to keeper engaging 2,756,085 Patented July 24, 1956 '2 tier is removed .by azpull on thefiexible cable. The lever strikes the projection on the secondaryv latch before the primary latch is released and if the barrier isin the way the arm cannot-move out to release either latch.

Means are providedin accordance with the invention to lock the barrier so that it cannot be removed except by a pullv on the flexible-cable. ln practice for example, the barrier islin the form of a finger which. is an angular extensionfrom la rock-shaft, .the ifingerrbeing -disposed in .a verticalfplane immediately iniront of the secondary latch in its biased position, and the rockshaf-t is angularly biasednto-hold the finger infront 0f.the secondary latch. The cable is-fastened to a: crankon theshaft so as to rock theshaft against its bias.

The invention contemplates means to .lock the :rock shaft in. the-restraining,position against a force applied from the front of the car directly on the finger, which lock means are released by a pull on the cable, .thus ;preventing unauthorized unlatching o'f *thehood :by direct application of force on the barrier-independent of the manual release inside the-closed body;

The invention has other objects and advantages and comprehends other features of construction as will appear more clearly from .the -following-description of the emtbodimentof the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings to which reference is .now made. I

Fig. :1 is .a..fragmentarypperspective of theiront end of near with thehoodclosed and partiallyvbroken away to show the xlatching-means;

Fig. -2-i-s a similar view showing, the hood open;

..Figs. 3,.- 4 andMS are front detail". elevations of the latching means in closed, partiallyopen and fully -open positions, respectively;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of-the manua'lly operated barrier and releasing-mechanism as viewed from the left r-in Figs.-'3., 4 and- 5;

Fig. 7 is a tight side elevationof the latching means with. the barrier andsreleasing nnechanism and a portion of =thexsupportingbracket;

Fig. 8 is a perspective of a standard. latching mecha- 1118111;

fig, 9:-is an inverted sectional planet the barrier and I-releasing mechanism on-v-th'e plane of r-line--9-9 of Fig, 6,;

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional elevational ofithe-same on theplane of line 10-10 of Fig.9;

Big, 11 is a sectional detail ofathe crank-end of the rock. shaft and associated lockingelements-in locked po'sition; and

Fig. 12 is a similar view showing thewelernents in released position.

The latching-means shown areof standard construction and itwill be understood that this isintended to be :merely illustrative of 'one application @of the invention, andthat the principle ofthe invention may :be similarly :applied' to any of the many standard types :of: hood latch.

Theparticular hood latch which 'has been takenxfor the purposeof showing how the invention may he applied is shown perspective in Fig.18- \vitho1-1t the barrier .mechanism of the invention and in-Figs. 1, 2,3, '4, 5 and "7 with the barrier mechanism.

Supported on a bracket :1 :in front of the-"radiator 12 and inside the grille -3 of the car :are the two' keepers'df ithe'primaryl and secondary latches shown: inwFiga 8. These keepers comprise an upstanding headed stud 4 and a 'down turned hook-5.

The latch members comprise .Ithe primary zlatch- 6 and the :secondary latch 7. The primary latch consists of a socket structure having a sheet metal side -cl'osl1re':8 and a socket .platei9fsupportedion :a bracket '10 which is attached to the unders'idelofthe ho'od The socket plate ahhas a sccket openingaz which enterslintoasocketia secured 3 over the opening which is in position to receive the stud 4 when the hood is closed as shown in Figs. 3 and 8.

.The socket 13 is recessed in, the front portion of its bottom to receive a latch 14 which is crescent shape and is positioned to overlap the socket opening,12and engage underneath the head of the stud 4 when the hood is closed and prevent withdrawal of the stud and opening of the hood. 4

This latch 14 is pivoted on the side plates of the socket structure, having upstanding arms 15 which pivot on a transverse rock shaft 16 having on one outer end a lever arm 17 and on the other end a crank finger 18 having a reentrant end that protrudes through the side wall of the socket structure in abutting relation to the extending end of the adjacent arm 15.

A coil spring 19 on the transverse shaft 16 urges the latch 14 into latching position, one end of the spring bearing against the front edge of the latch and the other end being caught on an inturned lug extension from the side plate of the socket structure, as shown clearly in Fig. 8.

The force of the spring 19 therefore urges the upper end of side arm 15 against the inturned end of crank finger 18 and tends to retract the arm 17. A forward pull on the lower end of arm 17 rocks the shaft 16 and causes the crank finger 18 to force the end of arm 15 back and withdraw the latch 14 and so release the primary latch from its keeper, that is, from the headed stud 4.

Except for the secondary latch the hood would thus be free to be raised. The secondary latch comprises a bail-like member 20 which is pivotally attached to the socket structure 8 through a pivot pin 21. A coil spring 22 on pivot pin 21 has one end bearing against the latch member 20 and the other end against the inturned lug extension of the side plate of the socket structure and thus urges the latch structure 20 back or counterclockwise as viewed in Figs. 7 and 8 to a position in which the latch will catch in the hook as the hood is raised.

On the latch 20 is a laterally extending abutment arm 23 which projects into the path of the arm 17 and is close enough to the arm in the bias position of the latch 20 to be engaged by the arm 17 before the arm 17 has moved out far enough to withdraw the sliding latch 14 and unlatch the primary latch.

The well known operation of this standard hood latch construction is therefore evident. When the hood is closed the stud 4 enters into the socket opening in plate 9 and spring 19 allows latch 14 to yield as the tapered head passes it and then causes the latch to snap in underneath the head and secure the hood until the latch 14 is withdrawn. At the same time the secondary latch 20 is swung in by spring 22 until the bail is underneath the hook 5 but substantially clear of it, as shown in Fig. 3. Thus there is a substantial upward movement of the hood after the first latch is released before the second latch catches.

The way the latch structure is made, however, the only circumstance under which the second latch can catch is when the first latch was not caught in the closing of the hood. This is because the arm 17 engages the abutment arm 23 before it turns crank finger 18 far enough to withdraw the latch 14 and further movement of the lever arm removes the second latch 20 to a position to clear hook 5 at the same time that it withdraws latch 4.

It is obvious, therefore, that a barrier in. front of latch 20 will prevent effective movement of arm 17 to release latch 14 and to move latch 20 to clearing position. This invention provides such barrier means which will now be described.

These means are shown particularly in Figs. 6, 9 and 10.

The manually operative barrier means are contained in a casing 30 supported on the bracket 1. A rock shaft 31 bears in two bearings 32 depending from the top of casing 30. A coil spring 33 on the shaft bears at one end against a bearing 32 and is attached at its other end to a pin 34 through the shaft which engages a stopstrip 35 extending between the bearings. Another coil compres- 4 sion spring 36 bears at one end against a bearing 32 and at the other end against pin 34 and urges the shaft axially into the casing, or toward the left as viewed in Fig. 6, for a purpose which will presently appear. It is quite obvious that a single spring could be employed for the double function of springs 33 and36.

At its inner end the shaft 31 has an angularly bifurcated crank member 37 and atits outer end, outside the casing it has an angular extension forming a finger 38 extending at right angles to the axis of the shaft. The pin 34 and stop strip 35 are so relatively disposed that normally the finger 38 is horizontally disposed and the extension of the shaft 31 is of such length and is so disposed that the finger 38 normally extends in front of the secondary latch 20 in its bias position and acts as a barrier to the release of the latch.

To free the latch 20 from this barrier it is necessary to turn the finger 38 downwardly out of the way, and manual means to do this are provided. As shown, this consists of a flexible wire cable 39 which is attached at one end to the crank 37 and extends with its other end into the closed body (not shown) of the car, being attached for example to a knob on the dash, as is common, or, if preferred, being attached to the hand brake or otherwise disposed in the closed body. Such flexible wire cable is of well known construction, usually comprising an inner wire which is slidable in a coil sheathing which enables the wire to transmit longitudinal movement around bends without kinking.

The flexible wire cable is so attached to the crank 37 that a pull on it will cause the rock shaft 31 to turn on its'axis and move the finger 38 downwardly out of the barrier position and thus free the latch 20 and consequently the latch 14. In other words it moves the finger 38 from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 to the position shown in full lines in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, or from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2. When the pull on the wire cable is released, the spring 33 will restore the finger 38 to its barrier position. The only force which the operator has to overcome in releasing the latch mechanism, outside of the friction is that of spring 33 which is so inconsiderable as to be negligible.

Means are provided to prevent malicious tampering with the barrier finger and releasing the latch by engaging the finger and exerting an angular force upon it to turn it out of the way by means of a tool entered through the front grille of the car. For this purpose a lock for the crank is provided which can only be released by a pull on the wire.

This feature is illustrated in Figs. 1 l and 12. A bracket plate 40 extends down from the top wall of casing 30 adjacent the crank 37 and has a hole 41 therein. The bifurcated end of crank 37 has a wire hook 42 pivoted therein, its free end being bent to form a hook and the wire hook being of such a length and the hole 41 being so disposed that in normal position of shaft 31 the hook 42 will extend into and through the hole 41, as shown in Figs. 10 and ll, where it will hook on to the bottom edge of the hole if a turning forceis applied to the shaft 31 independent of the cable, as by applying a downward force on the finger 38. An upward force would of course be resisted by the stop strip 35 and pin 34.

When pull is exerted on the wire of the cable, the wire slides in its sheath and in the first part of its movement it pulls the hook 42 out of the hole 41 as it starts to rotate the crank, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. ll. Continued movement of the wire in the cable folds the hook 42 up against the crank and thereafter the movement is fully transmitted to the crank until the parts reach the position shown in Fig. 12 in which finger 38 is in a vertical position.

Additionally signal means are provided to operate when the finger 38 is engaged directly in an effort to remove the barrier. For this purpose the shaft 31 is shown as axially slidable in its bearings, and, as above stated, the spring 36 urges it inwardly of the casing. At the inner end of the casing is an electric switch within the case 45, which has a spring pressed operating plunger 46 that is normally out on switch closing position and will open the switch when forced in.

This plunger 46 is disposed adjacent the crank 37 so that the spring 36 causes the crank to abut the plunger and force it inward to open switch position. A tampering with the finger 38 will normally exert a pull on the finger and hence on the shaft so as to slide it outwardly and withdraw the crank 37 from plunger 46 and allow the switch to close and operate a signal which may be either audible or visual or both.

It will be understood that the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings and above described will be modified as necessary to adopt it to the various individual forms of commercial hood latches, and that various equivalents of the precise illustrated mechanical constructions and movements will readily occur to those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A barrier device for automobile hood locks which have a pivoted latch carried by the hood movable into and out of engageable positions with respect to a fixed keeper hook and biased into engageable relation, said barrier device comprising a bracket underneath and fixed with respect to the hood of an automobile, a rock shaft mounted in bearings on the bracket and having an end extending at an angle to the axis of the shaft and disposed adjacent the pivoted latch in a plane intermediate the two positions of the latch and movable into and out of the path of the latch as the shaft is rocked, a spring angularly biasing the rock shaft to an angular position with the said angular end in the path of the latch, a crank on the other end of the shaft, and a manually operable cable attached to the crank 3 2. A barrier device as defined in claim 1 together with a hook pivotally attached to the crank, a fixed catch for the hook positioned to be engaged by the hook in the bias position of the shaft, the cable being attached to the hook and adapted to pull it from the catch and into contact with the crank in the first part of the movement of the cable and to rock the shaft against its bias in the further part of the movement of the cable.

3. Locking means for a hood latch for automobiles comprising in combination with a movable latch, a fixed bracket disposed under the hood of an automobile, a casing mounted on said bracket having bearings therein, a rock shaft mounted in the bearings and having one end extending from the casing, a latch restraining finger extending at an angle from said end, a spring angularly biasing the rock shaft to a position with the finger in the path of movement of said latch, a crank on the other end of said shaft, a hook pivoted on the free end of the crank, a fixed catch for the hook attached to the casing in position to be engaged by the hook in the bias position of the shaft, and a manually operable cable attached to the hook and adapted to pull it from the catch and into contact with the crank in the first part of the movement of the cable and to rock the shaft against its bias in the further part of the movement of the cable.

4. Locking means for a hood latch for automobiles as defined in claim 3 in which the rock shaft is axially slidable, together with an electric circuit for a signal device including a normally closed electric switch, a switch operating plunger adjacent the crank end of the shaft and resilient means urging the shaft axially toward the switch in position to engage the plunger and open the switch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,136,948 Nyhus Nov. 15, 1938 

